Mobile communication devices, such as mobile telephones, are increasingly used for more than just speech communication. A variety of applications like messaging services, data communication, e-mail or fax services have become available to the users of mobile communication devices.
The ongoing development in digital imaging devices makes it possible today to equip mobile communication devices with digital cameras at affordable prices, which gives rise to a host of new multimedia services. Such digital cameras allow one party to take digital photographs and send them to another by means of the well known multimedia message system (MMS) standard. Even video telephony can be established between two mobile communication devices, provided they are each equipped with a camera. The display is integral part of such applications, for viewing functions in the case of digital photography or so each party can see the other in the case of video telephony.
A problem, which consequently arises is that a different arrangement of display in relation to camera is required to support services such as digital photography and video telephony in the same device. More specifically, they have to face in opposite directions in digital photography, whereas the display and camera have to face in the same direction in video telephony.
This problem can be solved by equipping the mobile communication device with two cameras, one facing in the same and another facing in the opposite direction of the display. The use of two cameras in a single mobile communication device is taught in, for instance, U.S. patent application publication US 2003/0036365 to Kuroda, entitled “Portable Communications Terminal with Camera Capable of Taking Pictures.” However, using two cameras leads to a significantly more expensive and complex mobile communication device.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a less expensive way to bring both digital photography and video telephony functionality to a mobile communication device.